“I can’t believe they overpowered our security and practically destroyed my laboratory.” Veronica glared at Nicholas Gregory and paced across the expansive office to the enormous plate glass windows that looked down over the state capitol complex. She could actually see Sylvan Mir’s office across the courtyard. How ironic. “They put a spy inside my facility. How could this happen? Aren’t you supposed to know about these things? Don’t you have spies of your own inside those pathetic mutant-loving organizations?”
“We have infiltrated some of the groups supporting Praetern rights.” Nicholas’s patronizing voice made her want to remind him that without her he had no chance of containing the creatures. “But we need to be careful. Exposure is likely to turn the human population against HUFSI’s agenda. This person—Martin—he escaped?”
“Apparently. We’re still searching the building. Removing the bodies, cleaning up your mess. Now I’m going to have to relocate my entire lab.”
“Clearly we have underestimated our human adversaries as well as the cunning of the Weres. We’ll strengthen our precautions at the other facilities,” Nicholas said. “We know what Martin looks like. We’ll find him and persuade him to lead us to his co-sympathizers.”
“Fine. I don’t care what you do to him,” Veronica said impatiently. “With the specimens I already have, I can continue my work elsewhere until we’re able to acquire new subjects.”
Nicholas grimaced. “We’re going to have some problems there. Now that the Weres have been alerted, they’re going to be guarding their adolescents even more closely.”
“You know, the timing of this debacle might turn out to be serendipitous. We don’t actually want to eradicate these species, we just want to control them.” Smiling, she turned from the window and studied the man who financed her work. He had some secret agenda, but for now, their interests were compatible. “You said yourself, you need an army capable of fighting supernatural soldiers. Selective breeding and genetic alteration takes time. For a long-range plan, it’s still a reasonable goal.”
“And in the short term?” Nicholas asked, sitting forward, his eyes glinting.
“Well, we need to be able to redesign the adults, don’t we?” Veronica felt a tingle of arousal. “Human research has already made strides in reverse-engineering mature organisms. We simply need the appropriate material to study.”
“Stem cells?” Nicholas said.
“How perceptive of you.”
“What exactly will you need?”
Veronica smiled, excitement coursing through her. For the first time since she had run—no, been driven—out of her laboratory by a group of subhuman creatures, she felt in control again. Oh yes. She was going to enjoy these next experiments.
“Pregnant females.”